Professor Stephen Prothero on the Uniqueness of Christianity

"While it may seem to be an act of generosity to state that Confucians and Buddhists and Muslims and Jews can also be saved, this statement is actually an act of obfuscation.  Only Christians seek salvation.

A sports analogy may be in order here.  Which of the following - baseball, basketball, tennis, or golf - is best at scoring runs?  The answer of course is baseball, because runs is a term foreign to basketball, tennis, and golf alike.  Different sports have different goals...To criticize a basketball team for failing to score runs is not to besmirch them.  It is simply to misunderstand the game of basketball...Just as hitting home runs is the monopoly of one sport, salvation is the monopoly of one religion.  If you see sin as the human predicament and salvation as the solution, then it makes sense to come to Christ."1

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Footnote:
1. Stephen Prothero, God Is Not One, p. 22-23; as quoted by Neil Shenvi in Why Believe?, p. 188.

Related Posts

Book Preview - Why Believe? A Reasoned Approach to Christianity by Neil Shenvi

The Clearest Statements in the Bible about Jesus Being the Only Way to Salvation

Do All Religions Lead to God?